Hello and welcome back to the Fourth Wheel’s weekly news bulletin. As I say in this week’s podcast, it happens to be quite a visual update, for which I apologise. I’m interested in new watches from MB&F, Baltic and Serica and confused by one from Sea-Gull. Do people really want to wear a completely upside down watch? The main takeaway from MB&F’s reimagining of the LM1 is disbelief that it could possibly be fifteen years since it first launched. Tim Barber and I included it on our list of the most influential watches of that period - a list you can listen to here, if you missed it the first time round. Also looking to its back catalogue is Vacheron Constantin, which announced the 34 watches that make up its first - and the world’s first - concours of haute horlogerie. Drawn from around 550 submissions, they are predictably fantastic; I wonder if it will move the needle for the market in the way that it is so clearly intended to. Little by little, perhaps - but looking at Phillips’ regular run of business, the market is currently looking in a rather different direction. Blue-chip brands like Patek aren’t exactly going anywhere, but the specific references that are grabbing the attention are oh so esoteric. I got lost in the catalogue for the house’s upcoming sale, which contains just one proper steel Rolex sports watch, and this terrible Laurent Ferrier. On a happier note, I am always interested to see signs of life in the marriage between watches and cars - a relationship that has gone somewhat stale recently. I didn’t mention this on the podcast, but the sight of Williams F1’s team principal James Vowles enthusing warmly about their new collaboration with Girard-Perregaux made me think of 1984. We have always been at war with Eurasia! We have always been sincere and heartfelt admirers of G-P, ever since their contract with one of our competitors came to an abrupt end. Anyway, this isn’t really about that. I thought Serica’s Parade made good sense as a concept car dashboard clock, and I really enjoyed how good Breitling’s ‘flying B’ looked on the wings of this Aston Martin Valhalla. Small things, yes, but sometimes that’s ok. In my haste, I overlooked the news that Breitling has also introduced ‘social clubs’ - a natural extension, perhaps, of its townhouses and pop-up cafés. Say what you will about the lifestylification of the retail space, but I would rather spend time in Breitling’s Regent St flagship than the boutiques of its competitors. They all feel somewhat artificial, but a comfy sofa and a pool table beats an awkward stool and cold counter any day of the week. That said, I wonder if brands overestimate their pull on their clientele. Even AP never seems to have anyone actually in its houses, just hanging out. But what do I know? Community is certainly a potent force. It works for the indie brands, the pre-owned dealers and the grass-roots organisations, so I don’t begrudge the institutional brands having a go. Behind the scenes, I am keeping tabs on Basilia, the trade fair attempting to emerge from the ashes of Baselworld. It put out a press release to tell us that 70 per cent of its 400-odd exhibitors were booked in, including around 70 companies from the watch industry, but so far no names have been made public. I’ll be very curious to see which brands felt it was a necessary addition to their already busy calendars. As I mention in the episode, I am wearing a Longines and absolutely loving it. Not words I thought I’d have much cause to use in that order any time soon. I’ll be writing up a full review for this Friday; the question is not so much whether Longines can make a good watch, but whether it can make us want a Longines at all. Stay tuned, and hit that big orange button up there if you’re not yet subscribed. Links discussed in today’s episode: * The worst Laurent Ferrier * The MB&F LM1 Evo * Vacheron Constantin’s Concours d’Elegance de Horlogerie * The Baltic Hermetique ‘The Rift’ * Serica x Peugeot * Breitling x Aston Martin * Basilia * The Sea-Gull 1963 Utopia Night Sky Thanks for listening. I’ll see you back here next time for more. Chris Get full access to The Fourth Wheel at www.thefourthwheel.co.uk/subscribe
